‘Our future in their hands’: young people’s plea to MLAs not to derail the Integrated Education Bill
Photograph: Faith Lyttle (Head Girl) Jake Wright (Deputy Head boy) and Angelica Rillon (Deputy Head Girl) from Hazelwood Integrated College at Stormont today
Pupils from an Integrated school in Belfast arrived at Stormont today calling on MLAs to support the Integrated Education Bill
Demand for spaces in Integrated schools cannot be met by current provision yet some MLAs may block the Integrated Education Bill
Integrated Education Bill enjoys huge support from public, consultation respondents and majority support of MLAs
Navigating school life can be challenging enough for young people and their families. But with the high demand for places in Integrated schools, children and their parents are facing additional anguish in missing out on places.
The Integrated Education Bill, introduced by Bill Sponsor Kellie Armstrong MLA, would include a strategy to meet the huge demand for Integrated school places in Northern Ireland.
Campaigners from Integrated AlumNI, a network of past pupils and supporters of Integrated Education, have called on UUP MLAs to support the Integrated Education Bill. Lise McCaffery said, “The Bill has huge public support and the support of a majority of MLAs. We urge Doug Beattie and the UUP to do the right thing.”
Today, current pupils took matters into their own hands arriving at Stormont to ask politicians not to sign the DUP’s Petition of Concern which they described as ‘undemocratic’. “We came to Stormont today because this Bill affects our future and we don't want a small number of MLAs to block that. Our future is in their hands”, said Faith Lyttle, Head Girl at Hazelwood Integrated College.
According to Department of Education statistics, in 2020 21% of pupils who selected Integrated schools for their post-primary selection were not successful in securing a place.
Danielle Robinson’s son, Lucas, went to an Integrated primary school in Belfast but wasn’t initially successful in getting a place at an Integrated school in his post-primary selection when they applied in 2020. “It was so stressful. We hadn’t realised the level of demand for places so it came as a huge shock when he didn’t get accepted. So many other families were in the same boat as us. There definitely needs to be more Integrated schools and to have them more geographically spread out to avoid this anxiety on families.”
In 2022, Hazelwood Integrated College received over 230 applications for 160 post-primary spaces and was the most oversubscribed school in North Belfast among selective and non-selective schools in 2020. Hazelwood’s Principal, Maire Thompson said, “For parents, the choice is not just about pupils of all faiths and none learning together; it’s also about the great academic experience that they receive in Integrated schools.”
On Wednesday 9th March the Integrated Education Bill reaches its final stage in the Northern Ireland assembly and it's still unclear if UUP will join the DUP's Petition of Concern which would derail it.